Great Teachers Make Innovative Solutions Possible
Guest Author: Dr. Cory Steiner, Superintendent of Northern Cass School District (ND), Learner-Centered Collaborative Advisory Council member Northern Cass is a mentor school district in the 2023-24 Learner-Centered Connections program Several years ago Northern Cass School District in North Dakota acknowledged that despite traditional markers indicating things were “good” across the district they wanted "great"—a personalized, competency-based student learning experience that tended to whole learner-outcomes. Under the leadership of Superintendent Cory Steiner, PhD, the district reinvented what school could be by taking a learner-centered approach that eliminated percentage grades, honored student interests, and put the focus of learning on the ...
Growth Through Connections
By: Dr. Leighangela Brady, Superintendent, National School District (CA) Dr. Brady shares a first-hand perspective from the Fall 2023 Learner-Centered Connections in-person convening in San Diego, CA where the cohort visited four innovative public schools and Illumina, a biotech company. Hearing directly from a student ambassador panel at Bostonia Global High School in the Cajon Valley School District. National School District's Executive Cabinet team recently had the privilege of attending the Learner-Centered Collaborative's Connections Convening, an extraordinary event held on October 9 – 10, 2023, in our vibrant city of San Diego, California. This event brought together ...
All Goals Are Not Created Equal
Guest blog post by Erik Burmeister Erik Burmeister is the Founder and Principal of Solutionary Advisors, a member of the Learner-Centered Collaborative Advisory Council, and the former Superintendent of Menlo Park City School District in California. Take any course. Ask any expert. Read any book. When it comes to curating a portrait of leadership, the importance of goal setting is central to the narrative. In education, we write goals on our school site plans, add goals to our evaluations, develop goals for our strategic plans, and require goals from our students. If goals are so transformational, why ...
Designing Units with Student Choice, Real-World Problem Solving, and Technology Integration
By: Vince Fabella, Math Teacher & Technology Lead at Laguna Beach Unified School District Student engagement and technology integration are crucial components of effective teaching and learning, helping to promote interactive, dynamic, and creative problem-solving approaches that empower learners. Although the use of educational technology has increased significantly in recent years, there may be a temptation to abandon it in favor of traditional teaching methods. However, it’s essential to recognize that technology should be viewed as a tool to enhance instruction, rather than a substitute for effective teaching practices. Here, I’ll explore how Laguna Beach USD utilized the T3 Framework ...
Can AI Solve the Uniquely Human Challenges Facing Educators Today?
Author: Dr. Beth Holland, Partner, The Learning Accelerator Conversations in the education sector have converged in the past several weeks around three seemingly unrelated topics: pandemic recovery, educator shortages, and ChatGPT. Evidence suggests that schools continue to exist in a state of pandemic recovery, with students struggling academically and social-emotionally. At the same time, persistent staffing shortages make it difficult to meet students’ needs and reduce burdens on educators’ time. Despite initial trepidation, scarcity of resources could drive leaders and policymakers to the conclusion that AI and intelligent tutors like ChatGPT are “good enough” to address these challenges. However, ...
Unlocking Leadership Potential with Coaching
Dr. Bryanna Norton has been an educator for the last 19 years and is currently a Middle School Principal at Hidden Valley Middle School located in Escondido, California. Prior to her principal position she worked for the San Diego County Office of Education as a Coordinator of Human Resources coaching and mentoring administrators, and was also a Coordinator of the Designated Subjects Program that credentialed CTE and Adult Education teachers. She was also a High School Assistant Principal and high school teacher and coach. Her dissertation, The Essential Characteristics of Coaching that Secondary Principals Perceive Support Effective Leadership at ...
Inspiration from a Learner-Centered Classroom: 4 Ideas To Try This Year
High-impact practices and examples that foster agency and empower learners to flex their strengths and pursue their interests.
Spark Online Academy: Designing a Learner-Centered Online Public School
Colorado public school Spark Online Academy took the best of pandemic online learning and created a learner-centered, online school steeped in personal connection and engaging learning experiences. Read their story.
Forsyth County Schools: Fostering Learner Agency in a 3rd Grade Classroom
There are many powerful examples of teachers incorporating learner agency into their instructional frameworks. See how a 3rd grade teacher in at Vickery Elementary in Forsyth County Schools in Georgia grounds learning in choice and ownership.
The Role of Reading in Learner-Centered Education
Literacy is at the heart of learner-centered education. Uncover how reading supports four critical components of the learner-centered education and contributes to student success.
WestEd Altitude Learning Literature Review
This literature review provides an overview of best practices and common discourses that have shaped professional learning, with an emphasis on teaching that supports learner-centered practices. The literature reviews summarizes these findings by framing the goal of professional learning (PL) for learner- centered practices (LCP) as the development of focused, flexible professionals. These three themes— focused, flexible, and professionals—were encountered in various forms across the literature, and they provide a helpful framing for organizing our findings toward the goal of engendering learner-centered practices.
Supporting District Change Through Learner-Centered Leadership
The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.
Supporting Statewide Change Through Virtual Course Access Models
The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.
Supporting Statewide Change Through New Models for Remote Education
The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.
Supporting Statewide Change Through Microgrants to Families
The Moving Forward coalition formed to bring together and apply the best thinking and learning from the field in a way that accounts for compliance-related constraints, provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for SEA leaders, and delivers these services at a competitive rate while engaging experienced practitioners.
A Question of Trust: The Arcadia Unified Better Together Project
Arcadia Unified School District Superintendent, David Vanasdall, was visiting classrooms and noticed that every student in a kindergarten classroom had produced the exact same piece of artwork. It struck him in that moment how the learning experiences in many cases were at odds with the aspirations that they shared as a community.
5 Reasons Every Learner Needs Project-Based Learning in Their Life
Real-world learning translates into real-world knowledge and skills. How can this type of contextual learning benefit your child?
Hawaii Public Charter Schools: Collaborating to Scale and Sustain Competency-Based Learning
Brought together by a shared vision to create a more expansive student transcript reflecting whole child learning, charter schools in Hawaii offer a glimpse into their process—from vision to implementation.